MEMOIR  OF  NATHANIEL  MACON 
OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Weldon  N.  Edwards 


M/7e 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 

PRESENTED  BY 

The  children  of 
Mrs.  T.  W.  M.  Long 


CB 

Ml7e 

C.7 


MEMOIIl 


OF 


Nx4THx\NlEL  MACON, 


OF 


NORTH   CAROLINA. 


BY 

W  EL  DON    N.    EDWARDS. 


K  A  L  E  I G  H  : 
RALEIGH    REGISTER    STEAM    POWER    PRESS. 

1862. 


MEMOIR 


or 


NATHANIEL  MACON, 


OP 


NORTH   OAIIOLINA. 


BY 

WELD  ON    N.    EDWARDS 


RALEIGH: 
RALEIGH    REGISTER    STEAM    POWER    PRESS, 

1862. 


C  0  P  Y  - R I G  H  T     SECURED     ACCORDING     TO     LAW 


rV'^i^^ 


n 


n 


To  Wm.  Eaion,  Jr.  : 

Sir — Knowing  the  profound  veneration  and  abiding  affection  alvfays  enter- 
tained by  you  for  your  grandfather,  the  late  N.  Macon,  of  North  Carolina;  and 
persuaded  that  his  virtues  and  principles  have  found  a  worthy  representative  in 
the  grandson,  I  feel  a  pride  in  addressing  to  you  the  following  pages.  Thoir  pre- 
paration has  been,  to  me,  "a  labor  of  love,"  and  I  indulge  the  hope  that  I  have 
presented  his  character  fairly  and  truthfully  to  the  world,  and  placed  before  the 
American  youth  the  model  of  a  statesman  and  patriot  that  will  challenge  admira- 
tion throughout  all  time.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  the  opportunity  the  occasion 
affords  of  assuring  you  of  the  high  consideration  and  cordial  esteem  and  regard, 

With  which  I  am, 

Your  friend, 

VV.  N.   EDWARDS. 
Poplar  Mount,  N.  C,  7 
6th  July,  1862.     ] 


_^^  It  is  proper  that  the  Publisher  cf  the  following  Memoir  should  state  that 
the  paper  on  which  it  is  printed  is  not  of  as  good  quality  as  the  Author  desired. 
After  a  diligent  search,  however,  it  has  been  found  to  be  the  best  in  color  and  tex- 
ture that  can  now  be  procured.  ,  • 

The  Copyright  of  the  Memoir,  as  will  be  seen,  has  been  secured;  but  not  for  the 
pecuniary  benefit  of  its  Author,  whose  sole  object  in  writing  it  was,  to  pay  a 
tribute  of  admiration  and  respect  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  purest  and  best 
men  that  ever  lived  in  any  age  or  country. 

PUBLISHER. 


MEMOIR  OF  NATIIAMIL  MACON. 


It  is  cause  of  profound  thankfulness,  that  the  good  and  the 
wise,  with  whose  presence  we  are  blessed  in  this  life,  to  guide 
us  in  the  paths  of  virtue,  when  they  are  no  more,  leave  behind 
them  lessons  and  examples  full  of  instruction.  To  give  to  these 
enduring  form,  and  to  hold  them  up  as  a  mirror  of  life,  by  a 
truthful  picture  of  the  lives  and  manners  of  their  authors,  is 
a  service  of  inappreciable  value  to  mankind;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  but  a  just  tribute  to  the  illustrious  dead.  The  subject  of 
this  memoir  may  be  justly  classed  among  those  whose  virtues 
deserve  to  be  thus  commemorated. 

Nathaniel  Macon  was  born  on  the  17th  of  December,  1758, 
in  the  county  of  Bute,  of  the  then  province  of  North  Carolina, 
in  that  part  of  it  now  AVarren,  within  a  few  miles  of  the  present 
village  of  AVarrenton,  of  poor  and  respectable  parents.  Ilis 
great-grandfather  w^as  a  Huegonot,  and  came  over  from  France 
to  escape  tl^e  persecutions  consequent  upon  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantz,  in  1685.  His  father,  Gideon  H.  Macon, 
was  born  in  Virginia,  whence  he  came  to  North  Carolina.  His 
mother  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  daughter  of 
Edward  Jones,  of  Shocco.  He  lost  his  father  in  early  boyhood, 
and  was  left,  with  many  brothers  and  sisters,  in  the  care  of  his 
widowed  mother,  with  such  moderate  means  of  support  as  to 
require  the  utmost  care  and  industry  to  get  on  even  tolerably 
in  the  world.  He  assisted  in  all  the  domestic  offices  and  labors 
common  with  boys  at  that  day.  He  acquired  the  rudiments  of 
education  in  the  neighborhood,  at  what  was  then  called  an 
"  Old-field  School."  The  application,  progress  and  good  habits 
of  the  boy  gave  such  promise  of   the  future  man,  that  it  was 


6 

resolved  to  make  every  effort  to  give  him  a  thorough  education  ; 
and  he  was  accordingly  sent  to  Princeton  College,  New  Jersey. 
His  own  inclinations  eagerly  seconded  the  hopeful  purpose  of 
his  friends.  While  there,  he  prosecuted  his  studies  with  fond 
diligence,  and  sought  all  the  avenues  to  useful  knowledge  with 
unflagging  zeal.  Nor  did  he  relax  his  efforts  in  this  respect 
after  his  return  home — devoting  to  such  books  as  were  within 
his  reach  all  the  time  he  could  spare  from  the  ordinary  duties 
of  life ;  but  he  met  with  great  difficulties,  owing  to  the  scarcity 
of  books  and  his  own  poverty.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life, 
he  was  often  heard  to  say,  that  his  eyesight  failed  him  sooner 
than  it  otherwise  would  have  done,  in  consequence  of  his  reading 
so  much  by  fire-light  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood — being 
then  too  poor  to  buy  candles — his  small  patrimony  having  been 
exhausted  during  his  minority  in  his  support  and  education. 

His  love  for  North  Carolina  was  sincere  and  thorough.  In 
all  that  concerned  her  character — her  institutions — her  welfare, 
he  felt  an  ever  wakeful  solicitude.  Although  he  received  his 
collegiate  education  in  a  distant  State,  he  ever  after  gave  a 
decided  preference  to  the  seminaries  of  his  own  loved  North 
Carolina.  When  his  son-in-law,  William  Eaton,  Sen'r,  in  the 
year  1828,  was  about  to  send  two  of  his  sons  to  Cambridge,  he 
dissua.ded  him  from  it,  and  advised  him  to  send  them  to  the 
University  of  North  Carolina;  because,  among  other  reasons, 
they  would  there  make  acquaintances  of  many  of  the  future 
men  of  the  State,  and  contract  friendships  thai  would  be  of 
service  to  them  in  the  part  they  were  destined  to  act  in  the  great 
drama  of  life. 

He  studied  law,  but  never  applied  for  a  license  to  practice. 
There  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  grandson,  William  Eaton, 
jr.,  (who  shared  all  his  confidence  and  affections,  and  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  his  principles  and  virtues,)  an  old  London- 
bound  edition  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  which  was  used 
by  him,  and  which  is  highly  valued  as  a  family  relict.  Like  all 
persons  of  taste,  he  admired  the  classic  elegance  of  this  cele- 
brated work,  but  regarded  its  author  as  too  subservient  to 
power,  and  wanting  in  manliness  and  independence.     He  con- 


•  \ 


sidered  Sir  Edward  Coke  a  much  better  friend   to   English 
liberty. 

He  exhibited  in  early  life  those  qualities  which  subsequently 
established  for  him  a  spotless  and  enduring  fame,  and  wdiich 
rendered  his  character  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  Union. 

"Incorrupta  fides  nuclaque  Veritas, 
Mens  conscia  Recti," 

were    then,   as  ever  afterwards,  his  distinguishing  cliaracter- 
istics. 

Mr.  Macon  was  one  of  the  few  patriots  of  the  American 
Revolution,  who  survived  to  his  time  to  tell  the  trials  of  that 
eventful  period.  In  the  memorable  year  177G,  then  not  18 
years  old,  and  while  a  student  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey — burn- 
ing with  youthful  ardor,  and  fired  by  holy  enthusiasm  in  the 
cause  of  public  liberty — he  abandoned  his  collegiate  duties,  and 
performed  a  short  tour  of  military  duty  in  a  company  of  volun- 
teers, on  the  Delaware — thus  evincing  in  his  youth,  an  attach- 
ment to  those  principles,  which,  in  after  life,  he  supported  with 
so  much  firmness,  ability  and  undeviating  consistency.  This 
service  over,  he  returned  to  college.  In  17T9,  seeing  the  war- 
cloud  gathering  in  his  own  dear  South,  and  its  conquest  seriously 
threatened,  he  liastened  home  and  joined  the  militia  troops  of 
his  native  State  as  a  common  soldier;  and  continued  with  them 
till  the  provisional  articles  of  peace  were  signed  in  November, 
1T82.  While  in  this  trying,  though  to  him  grateful  service,  he 
gave  proofs  of  tliat  indifference  for  office  and  emolument,  and 
that  unaftected  devotedness  to  his  country's  good,  which  his 
future  history  so  conspicuously  illustrated.  He  served  in  the 
ranks  during  the  whole  period,  as  a  common  soldier  ;  and  though 
command  and  places  of  trust  and  confidence,  as  well  as  of  ease 
and  safety,  were  often  tendered  him,  he  invariably  declined 
them — desiring  only  to  occupy  the  station  and  share  the  hard- 
ships and  perils  common  to  the  greatest  portion  of  his  fellows- 
soldiers  ;  and  although  in  very  humble  circumstances,  as  to  prop- 
erty, he  never  would  charge  or  consent  to  receive,  nor  did  he 


over  receive,  one  cent  for  such  pcrvices.  He  gave  his  heart 
anrl  soul  to  tlie  cause  in  which  he  had  embarked ;  he  loved  his 
country,  and,  like  a  dutiful  sson,  gave  her  in  time  of  need — 
'''twas  all  lie  had'" — his  personal  services.  And  when  that 
counti-y— blessed  with  the  smiles  of  prosperity,  had  grown  to 
power  and  wealth,  and,  with  a  munificence  deserving  all  praise, 
made  liberal  provision  for  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  still 
did  he  decline  the  proffered  bounty.  Often  has  he  been  heard 
to  say,  disclaiming  all  imputation  upon  others,  that  no  state  of 
fortune  could  induce  him  to  accept  it.  In  those  times,  too, 
were  developed  the  noble  traits  of  Roman  character  which 
attracted  to  him  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  countrymen. 
He  became  generally  known  throughout  the  State,  and  won  for 
himself  a  popularity,  to  which  his  country  is  indebted  for  his 
long  and  useful  and  illustrious  services  in  the  public  councils. 
His  countrymen  elected  him,  while  yet  in  the  army,  and 
scarcely  twenty-three  years  old,  a  member  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature, without  his  solicitation  or  even  knowledge ;  and  reluctant 
to  part  with  his  comrades  in  arms,  his  first  impulse  was  to  decline 
this  new  service.  This  coming  to  the  ears  of  General  Green, 
in  whose  camp  he  was  at  the  time  stationed,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Yadkin,  when  the  sudden  flooding  of  that  river  arrested  the 
pursuit  of  Cornwallis ;  he  sent  for  the  young  soldier — earnestly 
remonstrated  with  him — and  finally  succeeded  in  persuading  him 
that  he  could  do  more  good  as  a  member  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly than  as  a  soldier.  He  saw  it  at  once.  'Twas  his  country 
that  called,  and  he  readily  obeyed  the  summons  of  the  Governor 
to  his  new  theatre  of  duty.  After  serving  in  this  capacity  many 
years,  he  was  chosen,  at  the  age  of  thirty- two,  a  member  of 
Congress,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  took  his  seat  at 
the  1st  Session  of  the  2nd  Congress,  in  1791,  which  he  filled 
uninterruptedly,  under  successive  elections,  till  the  winter  of 
1815-'10,  when  he  was  chosen  by  the  legislature  a  Senator  in 
Congress — without  his  solicitation,  and,  in  one  sense,  against 
his  wish  ;  for  his  maxim  was,  "frequent  elections  and  accounta- 
bility at  short  intervals,"  and  that  accountability  to  the  people. 
With  a  lirm  reliance  upon  the  constancy  of   the  people,  and 


their  pure  and  unsophisticated  judgment,  guided  by  the  prompt- 
ings of  interest  to  do  right,  he  was  fully  persuaded  that  recti- 
tude of  conduct  had  nothing  to  fear  from  such  an  ordeal. 

In  January,  1816,  being  then  at  Washington  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  as  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  he 
resigned  his  seat  in  that  body  and  assumed  his  new  station  as 
Senator.  On  that  occasion  he  declined  and  rejected  double  pay 
for  traveling,  although  abundant  precedents  entitled  him  to  it. 
The  legislature  continued  to  him  this  honorable  distinction  and 
high  trust  till,  induced  by  a  sense  of  duty  "  from  impaired 
health  and  waning  memory,"  he  resigned  in  November,  1828 — 
resigning  at  the  same  time  the  offices  of  Justice  of  the  Peace 
and  Trustee  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  both  of  which 
he  had  filled  for  many  years. 

During  his  congressional  career  he  was  elected  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  the  1st  Session  of  the  7th 
Congress,  in  1801 ;  and  continued  to  preside  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  that  body  until  the  10th  Congress,  when,  not  being 
able  to  attend  at  its  commencement,  from  severe  indisposition, 
a  new  incumbent  was  chosen.  The  duties  of  the  chair  Avere 
discharged  by  him  with  distinguished  ability  and  impartiality, 
which  secured  the  esteem  and  aifection  of  his  political  friends, 
and  won  the  confidence  and  admiration  of  his  political  adversa- 
ries. He  was  often  elected  President  of  the  Senate,  and  the 
last  time  chosen  to  that  station,  courteously  and  unostentatiously 
declined  its  acceptance.  The  office  of  Postmaster  General  was 
tAvice  tendered  him,  and  in  1824  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  can- 
didate for  the  Vice-Presidency  Avas  strongly  solicited  ;  but  office, 
however  high,  or  emolument  however  great,  had  no  charms  for 
him.  His  engagement  Avas  ahvays  to  his  constituents^  and  that 
he  Avas  determined  to  fulfill  to  the  letter.  No  lure  could  tempt 
him  to  lay  it  doAvn.  His  Avas  the  ambition  that  prompted  only 
to  virtuous  deeds.  Pie  sought,  "with  great  earnestness  and  untir- 
ing industry,  the  path  of  duty,  and  fearlessly  pursued  it — oblig- 
ing no  one  from  favor  or  aifection,  and  yielding  nothing  to  the 
suggestions  of  resentment  or  passion.  Indeed,  there  was  no 
passion  he  would  gratify  at  the  expense  of  duty.  In  1835,  his 
2 


10 

fellow-citizens  again  called  him  from  liis  cherislied  retirement, 
by  electing  liim  a  member  of  the  Convention,  charged  with  the 
important  duty  of  revising  and  reforming  the  Constitution  of 
his  native  State — of  which  body  he  was  chosen  President  by 
unanimous  suffrage.  In  1836,  he  was  chosen  Elector  of  Pres- 
ident and  Vice-President,  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and  at  the 
proper  time  repaired  to  the  seat  of  government  and  performed 
the  duty  required  of  him — presiding  at  the  same  time  over  the 
deliberations  of  the  College.  This  was  the  closing  act  of  Mr. 
Macon's  public  life.  Ho  was  spared  to  his  country  but  a  few 
months  longer. 

Of  his  political  creed,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  spealc.     His 
nncheqvered  consistency — the  frank  and  manhj  avowal  of  his 
ojnnions  on    all  proper  occasions — the  pi'ojninoit  and  distin- 
guished ^;rtr^  it  was  his  lot  to  act  in  support  of  every  Republi- 
can administration — sufficiently  proclaim  it.     Suffice  it  to  say, 
he  was  a  Republican  of  the  Old  School ;  and  possessed,  without 
qualification   or  abatement,  the   affection  and  confidence  of  a 
Jefferson,  a  Madison,  a  Monroe,  and  a  Jackson,  and  of  the 
whole  host  of  distinguished  statesmen,  with  whom  he  was  a  co- 
laborer  in  the  cause  of  democracy  and  free  government.     His 
political  principles  were  deep-rooted.     He  became  attached  to 
them  from  early  examination,  and  was  confirmed  in  their  cor- 
rectness from  mature  reason  and  long  experience.     They  were 
the  principles  of  genuine  Republicanism  ;  and  to  them,  through 
life,  he  gave  a  hearty,  consistent,  and  available  support.     With 
them  he  never  compromised;  and  the  greater  the  pressure,  the 
more  pertinaciously  he  stood  by  them.     Adopting,  to  the  fullest 
extent,  the  doctrine  which  allowed  to  man  the  capacity  for,  and 
the  right  of  self-government — he  was  a  strict  constructionist 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  never  w^ould  con- 
sent— however  strongly  the  law  of  circumstances,  the  common 
plea  of  tyrants,  might  demand  it — to  exercise  doubtful  powers. 
Jealous  of   Federal  authority,   his  most  vigilant  efforts  were 
directed  towards  restraining  it  within  due  limits.     A  democrat 
by  nature  as  well  as  by  education,  he  was  pursuaded, — that  on 
the  popular  part  of  every  government  depend  its  real  force — its 


11 


welfare — its  security — its  permanence— its  adaptation  to  the 
happiness  of  the  people. 

Stability  and  consistency  were  strong  points  in  Mr.  Macon's 
character — formed  upon  his  uncompromising  adherence  to  prin- 
ciple and  unswerving  fidelity  to  duty.  In  his  conversation, 
easy  and  unaffected  ;  in  his  manners  and  dress,  a  decided  model 
of  republican  simplicity ;  pretentious  in  nothing ;  all  who 
approached  him  felt  conscious  of  receiving  the  civility  and 
respect  demanded  by  the  nicest  sense  of  propriety.  To  these 
characteristics  did  he  owe  much  of  that  firm  hold  upon  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  his  countrymen  which  sustained  him 
in  the  severe  trials  ahvays  to  be  met  in  the  great  battle  of  life. 
His  was  an  enduring  popularity ;  it  never  waned ;  it  existed  in 
as  much  vigor  and  freshness  at  the  close  of  his  life  as  at  any 
former  period ;  it  lived  after  him — and  it  is  the  source  of  the 
highest  gratification  to-  his  numerous  friends  and  admirers  that 
he  is  still  often  quoted  as  the  bright  exemplar  of  '^tlie  honest 
man  and  tltc  iclsc  and  virtuouis  statesman.''  This  feature  in  his 
"life  is  the  more  striking  when  viewed  in  contrast  with  the  politi- 
cal fortunes  of  others  of  the  most  exalted  worth  and  eminent 
services,  who  failed  to  retain,  to  the  last,  that  popular  favor 
obviously  due  to  their  great  merit  and  conspicuous  usefulness. 
"'Tis  true,  'tis  pity  'tis  true,"  that  popular  favor  is  often  iost 
without  fault.  The  popular  heart,  whose  aims  are  always  right, 
is  often  swayed  by  the  satan-like  influences  and  ill-bred  preju- 
dices, manufactured  by  the  selfish  and  designing,  in  workshops 
of  iniquity — their  own  wicked  brains — and  the  nust  patriotic 
and  eminently  useful,  who  deserve  to  be  embalmed  in  the  hearts 
of  their  countrymen,  too  often  become  victims  to  their  vile 
practices. 

Though  so4ong  honored,  and  so  many  years  the  depositary  of 
public  honors  and  public  trusts,  Mr.  Macon's  was  the  rare  merit 
of  never  having  solicited  any  one  to  vote  for  him,. or  even  inti- 
mated a  wish  that  he  should ;  and  though  no  one  shared  more 
fully  the  confidence  of  a  large  circle  of  •influential  friends,  his 
is  the  praise  of  never  having  solicited  the  slightest  interest  for 
liis  own  preferment.     Public  honors  sought  him ;  he  prized  them 


12 


only  as  the  reward  of  faithful  and  virtuous  performance,  and 
regarded  place  as  the  means  merely  of  bringing  him  in  nearer 
contact  with  public  duty.  He  made  no  popular  harangues, 
seeking  to  avoid  the  temptation  of  being  betrayed  into  promises 
which  he  could  not  or  would  not  fulfiil,  or  into  protestations 
which  his  heart  would  not  sanction.  He  was  never  found  ram- 
bling through  his  Congressional  District,  seeking  to  engineer 
himself  into  popular  favor  by  means,  which,  self-respect  and  a 
just  sense  of  the  rights  of  others,  forbade.  His  rule  was  to 
attend,  punctually,  once  a  year,  if  health  permitted,  the  first 
court  held  in  each  county  in  his  district  after  his  return  from 
Congress.  •  There  he  met  his  constituents — there  he  received 
their  greetings  and  heard  their  complaints — there,  without 
simulation,  gave  a  full  account  of  his  stewardship.  In  his 
intercourse  with  them  he  was  easy,  frank  and  communicative — 
never  withholding  his  opinions  upon  matters  of  pubic  concern- 
ment, and  always  inviting  them  to  the  exercise  of  the  utmost  free- 
dom of  thought  and  of  speech,  as  the  highest  privilege  of  freemen, 
and  the  surest  guard  of  liberty.  He  never  attended,  what,  in  his 
own  characteristic  language,  he  called  "a  man-dinner,"  regarding 
all  such  as  political  pageants,  with  too  much  of  deceptions 
exterior,  and  too  little  calculated  to  better  the  popular  heart  or 
enlighten  the  popular  mind.  And,  when  upon  his  retirement 
from  Congress,  a  large  portion  of  his  old  constitutents  tendered 
him  the  compliment  of  a  public  dinner,  he  declined  it  in  a  brief 
note,  saying,  that  "he  had  never  been  at  such  a  show,  and 
that  he  had  already  received  the  most  gratifying  proofs  of  their 
good  will  and  esteem.*' 

To  shun  all  ostentatious  display  and  the  emptiness  of  pride 
was,  with  him,  a  princijyie ;  and  to  do  good  to  his  fellow-men, 
and  to  society,  a  rule  of  action,  which  he  scrupulously  observed, 
always  abstaining,  in  the  employment  of  his  faculties  and  in 
the  use  of  the  abundant  goods  with  which  frugal  industry  had 
blessed  him,  from  the  gratification  of  any  passion,  the  indul- 
gence of  which  prudence  forbade  to  others  less  favored  by  for- 
tune— thus  teaching,  by  both  precept  and  example,  the  necessity 
of  tempo-rance,  frugality  and  industry,  as  the  surest  and  best 
foundation  for  contentment  and  plenty. 


13 


Of  generous  and  unsuspicious  nature,  lie  never  looked  with 
uncharitableness  on  the  actions  of  his  fellow  men,  but,  with  the 
strength  and  armor  of  a  well  balanced  mind,  gave  to  them  the 
calmest  consideration,  and  assigned  to  each  its  appropriate 
place  in  the  scale  of  Good  and  Evil.  Of  philosophic  mind, 
subdued  temper,  and  great  self-command,  he  met  the  incidents 
and  accidents  of  life,  not  with  stoic  indifference,  but  with  quiet 
submission — yielding  nothing  to  passion,  less  to  despondency, 
and  looking  to  passing  events  as  to  a  school  for  instruction, 
and  deducing  from  them  useful  lessons  to  guide  him  in  the  path- 
way of  life. 

Of  him  it  may  be  'emphatically  said,  that  he  thought  for 
himself,  but  reposing,  with  confidence,  on  his  discriminating 
sense  of  justice  and  integrity  of  purpose,  he  gave  to  all  subjects 
the-  fullest  deliberation,  and  never  jumped  to  conclusions  in 
advance  of  his  judgment.  But  when  he  had  formed  an  opin- 
ion, he  adhered  to  it  with  a  fearless  and  virtuous  inflexibility, 
which  yielded  to  no  importunity  or  persuasion.  This,  with 
sonie,  subjected  him  to  the  charge  of  obstinacy. 

"  Virtub  itself,  'scapes  not  calumnious  strokes." 

But,  if  this  were  a  fault,  it  found  a  sanction  in  his  unaffected 
love  of  justice,  and  evinced  the  absence  of  that  facile  disposi- 
tion which  too  often  betrays  into  error,  by  sacrificing  to  a 
spirit  of  accommodation  for  the  sake  of  a  seeming  but  culpable 
amiability.  His  maxim  was,  "No  compromise  of  Right." 
He  utterly  rejected  the  doctrine  "that  the  end  sanctifies  the 
means."  He  had  his  singularities,  yet  they  were  not  such  as 
to  "blur  the  face  of  virtue,"  but,  forming  exceptions  to  the 
fashionable  foibles  and  manners  of  the  times,  were  rather  bright 
spots  in  his  character  that  gave  to  it  greater  beauty.  He  was 
no  copyist.  He  o'ermastered  custom's  ways,  and  "  dared  to  be 
what  he  thought  he  ought  to  be." 

He  was  chary  of  promises,  but  ahvays  punctual  and  exact  in 
performance  ;  would  give  his  bond  or  note  to  no  man — contract 
no  debts — would  buy  nothing  without  paying  for  it.  "Pay  as 
you  go"  was  a  law  to  him,  which  he  inflexibly  observed.      He 


14 


mastered  all  his  wants,  and  kept  them  in  strict  subjection  to 
reason.  He  would  lend  money  to  a  friend,  but  never  take 
interest.  He  classed  labor  among  the  Virtues — never  called  for 
help  in  anything  he  could  do  himself — labored  often  in  his  fields 
at  the  head  of  his  slaves,  during  the  intervals  allowed  from 
public  duties,  and  topped  all  his  own  tobacco,  when  at  home  at 
the  proper  season,  till  the  infirmities  of  age  rendered  him  unable 
to  stand  the  heat  of  the  sun.  He  was  fond  of  the  chase,  and 
indulged  in  his  favorite  amusement- — the  pursuit  of  the  fox  and 
the  deer — as  long  as  he  lived. 

He  spoke  often  in  Congress — seldom  long.  His  speeches 
were  always  to  the  point ;  strong,  practical,  sententious — often 
furnishing  materials  for  the  rhetorical  displays  of  others.  A 
most  distinguished  member  once  characterized  his  speeches  as 
''dishes  of  the  best  materials  served  up  in  the  best  manner." 
Unless  prevented  by  bad  health,  he  was  always  in  his  seat — 
voted  on  every  question — Avas  punctual  in  attendance  upon  com- 
mitees,  and  ever  ready  at  the  call  of  duty. 

He  was  fond  of  reading,  but  his  favorite  study  was  Man. 
"He  made  choice  of  human  nature tfor  the  object  of  his 
thoughts."  To  this  predilection,  did  ho  owe  that  consummate 
knowledge  of  the  human  character,  and  those  practical  lessons 
of  wisdom  of  so  much  consequence  in  the  conduct  of  life,  which 
gave  him  rank  among  the  "wisest  and  best." 

There  is  no  surer  test  of  merit  than  is  found  in  the  favorable 
opinions  of  the  wise  and  the  good,  formed  in  the  unrestricted 
freedom  of  social  intercourse,  when  the  seal  of  reserve  is 
unloosed,  and  neither  the  pride  of  ostentation  nor  the  dread  of 
criticism  or  censure,  invites  to  concealment.  Impressed  with 
this  truth,  with  a  view  to  impart  deeper  interest  to  this  sketch, 
by  stamping  the  seal  of  verity  upon  the  high  and  noble  traits 
it  portrays,  recourse  is  had  to  the  correspondence  of  eminent 
and  distinguished  statesmen  to  whom  all  the  avenues  of  knowl- 
edge were  opened  by  close  intimacy,  and  long  association  in 
public  life.  Thomas  Jefferson,  whose  monument  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Declaration  of  .Indepe^ulencey  and  in  the  enduring  popu- 
lar veneration  which  he  so  largely  shared,  but  a  few  weeks 


k. 


'f,jy'^    •>.* 


15 


after  lii^  first  inauguration  as  President  of  the  United  States  in 
1801   thus  writes  to  Mr.  Macon  :  "And  in  all  cases,  when  an 

-  office  becomes  vacant  in  your  State,  as  the^  distance  would 
-occasion  a  great  delay,  were  you  to  wait  "to  be  regulady  con- 
".ulted  I  shall  be  much  obliged  to  you  to  recommend  the  best 
-characters.  Theie  is  nothing  I  am  so  anxious  about  as 
-makino-  the  bef3t  possible  appointments;  and  no  case  in  which 
-the  best  men  are  more  liable  to  mislead  us,  by  yielding  to  the 

-  solicitations  of  applicants.     For  this  reason  your  own  spon- 
^^  taneous  recommendation  would  be  desirable."     Thus  did  Mr. 
J   stake  an  important  portion  of  his  administrative  duties  upon 
his  high  estimate  of  Mr.  M.'s  integrity  and  wisdom.     Again, 
in  another  letter  to  Mr.  Macon,  the  24th  March,   1826,   Mr. 
Jefferson  says:  "My  grandson,  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph, 
-the  bearer  of  this  letter,  on  a  journey  to  the  North,  will  pass 
-  two  or  three  days,  perhaps,  in  Washington.     1  cannot  permit 
-him  to  do  this  without  presenting  him  to  a  friend  of  so  long 
-standing,  whom  I  consider  as  the  strictest  of  our  models  of 
"  genuine  republicanism.    Let  him  be  able  to  say,  when  you  are 
-^one.  butnot  forgotten,  that  he  had  seen  Nathaniel  Macon, 
-upon  whose  tomb  will  be  written,  "  Ultimiis  Bomanorum  T 
- 1  only  ask  you  to  give  him  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  on 
-mv  account,   as  well  as  his  own,  assuring  you  ho  merits  it 
-as  a  citizen,  to  which  I  will  add  my  unceasing  affection  to 
-  yourself."     A  no  less  honorable  tribute  to  his  worth  was  paid 
by  that  distinguished  statesman  and  honored  and  favorite  son 
of  Georgia,  o'eorge  M.  Troup,  long  his  political  associate  and 
intimate  friend.     In  1824,  Wm.  H.  Crawford  was  the  selected 
candidate  for  the  Presidency,  of  the  State-Rights  Republican 
Party.     His  friends  became  alarmed  at  his  rapidly  declining 
health,  and  feared  his  disease  might  prove  fatal  or  otherwise 
disqualify   him.      "In   this   unfortunate    event,"    writes   Mr. 
Troup,  to  Mr.  Macon,  in  June,  1824,  "I  know  of  no  person 
-  who  would  unite  so  extensively  the  public  sentiment  of  the 
-southern   country   in   his  favor   as   yourself.      In   such    an 
-unhappy  result,  therefore,  unless  you  forbid  it,   I  will  take 
-the  liberty  to  propagate  my  opinion  as  diffusively  as  I  can. 


16 


"In  the  administration  of  the  general  government  we  want 
"  Virtue !  Virtue  I  \  VIRTUE  III 

Of  Mr.  Macon's  claims  to  distinction,  and  to  take  rank  on  the 
roll  of  fame  among  the  first  of  those  who  embellish  the  pages 
of  American  history — that  sagacious  statesman,  John  Ran- 
dolph, of  Roanoke,  whose  perception  of  character  was  rarely 
at  fault,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Macon,  14th  December,  1828,  thus 
speaks:  "Your  kind  letter  of  the  10th  is. just  now  received. 
"  Many,  many  thanks  for  it.  I  am  truly  concerned  at ,  the 
"causes  which  justly  occasion  you  uneasiness;-  yet,  when  I 
"reflect,  I  know  of  no  man  in  the  United  States  whom  I  would 
"  so  soon  be  as  yourself.  There  is  no  one  who  stands  so  fair 
"in  the  public  estimation;  and,  with  the  single  exception  of 
"  General  Washington,  there  is  not  one  of  your  times  who  will 
"  stand  so  fair  with  Posterity  as  yourself.  There  are  various 
"sorts  of  reputations  in  the  world.  Some  are  obtained  by 
"  cringing  and  puffing,  some  are  actually  begged  for  and  given 
"  as  an  alms  to  importunity,  some  are  carried  by  sheer  impu- 
"  dence.  No  one  has  had  a  better  opportunity  of  observing 
"this  than  yourself;  and  there  is  no  keener  observer." 

Upon  such  testimonials  as  these  from  such  high  and  pure 
sources,  the  reputation  of  this  just'and  virtuous  man  may  safely 
repose.  They  bespeak  a  name  and  a  fame  which,  dignify 
humanity,  and  invest  his  memory  with  a  usefulness  scarcely 
less  to  be  prized  than  his  services  while  living. 

This  sketch  would  be  imperfect,  did  it  not  notice  the  sugges- 
tive fact  that  in  his  latter  years,  Mr.  Macon  had  painful  misgiv- 
ings for  the  future  of  his  country.  'T  is  true  he  did  not  parade 
his  opinions  before  the  public  gaze,  preferring  rather  to  encour- 
age— not  to  alarm  the  popular  mind ;  but  often  when  his  thoughts 
were  turned  on  what  he  deemed  the  political  distempers  and 
proclivities  of  the  times,  did  he  say  to  a  friend  in  his  own  preg- 
nant language,  "I  am  afraid  all  my  labors  have  been  for  noth- 
ing ;" — obviously  referring  to  his  hardships  in  the  tented  field, 
and  his  arduous  and  well  directed  labors  in  the  councils  of  his 
country — having  devoted  to  these  patriotic  ofiices  the  greater 
part  of  a  long  life,  commencing  before  manhood  and   ending 


19 

t 

while  yet  very  young — being  deprived  of  the  tender  care  and 

affectionate  nurture  of  a  fond  mother — were  left  to  depend  upon 
his  counsels  and  guidance  to  lit  them  for  future  usefulness  and 
happiness.  He  made  companions  of  them  ;  won  their  affection 
and  confidence  ]  and  made  these  the  incentives  to  obedience  and 
usefulness.  Well  did  they  repay  his  anxieties  and  watchfulness, 
Thei/  ivere  zvhat  he  wMed  them  to  be — amiable,  intelligent, 
interesting — in  manners  easy  and  unaffected  and  untinctured, 
by  fondness  for  the  parade  of  appearances.  They  were  both 
married  to  highly  respectable  gentlemen ;  the  eldest,  Betsy  K. 
]Macon,  to  William  Martin,  of  Granville ;  the  youngest,  Seig- 
niora  Macon,  to  William  Eaton,  Sr.,  of  Warren.  Their  loss 
was  the  source  of  deep  and  heart-rending  affliction.  The  forti- 
tude of  the  philosopher  gave  way  to  the  sensibilities  of  nature— 
for  he  entertained  for  them  an  affection  as  warm  and  tender  as 
ever  glowed  in  the  bosom  of  a  doting  parent. 

He  died  the  29th  June,  1837,  at  Buck  Spring,  in  the  county 
of  Warren,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age.  Some  three  or  four 
days  previously,  he  was  partially  confined  to  the  house — enjoy- 
ing, however,  with  his  usual  flow  of  spirits,  the  society  and 
conversation  of  his  numerous  friends,  who  visited  him  daily, 
and  watched,  with  anxious  and  distressful  solicitude,  everv 
symptom  that  threatened  to  snatch  from  them  their  venerated 
friend  and  benefactor.  In  the  morning  of  that  day  he  rose 
early  as  usual — dressed  himself  with  habitual  neatness — conversed 
cheerfully  with  those  around  him,  occasionally  walking  in  the 
room  and  lying  on  the  bed.  It  was  about  10  o'clock  when  he 
felt  the  supreme  hour  had  come.  In  full  possession  of  his  mind, 
he  met  the  summons  with  a  composure  and  placid  resignation 
which  none  but  the  just  can  feel,  and  sunk  to  rest  without  pain 
or  suffering. 

Mr.  Macon  desired  that  no  monumental  stone  or  storied  urn, 
or  even  an  indosiire,  should  mark  the  spot  where  his  remains 
were  to  lie.  He  chose  it  himself  on  a  sterile  ridge,  and  pointed 
it  out  to  the  friend  whom  he  selected  as  his  Executor,  saying, 
'Mt  is  so  barren  no  one  will  ever  desire  to  cultivate  it;"  and 
directed  a  heap  of  stones,  in  a  lot  hard  by,  picked  up  from  before 


^0 

ftie  plough,  to  be  placed  over  him,  saying,  ''they  were  of  no 
value,  and  nobody  would  ever  want  them.""  Thus,  exhibiting 
towards  the  closing  scenes  of  life  the  same  unpretending 
modesty,  and  scrupulous  regard  for  the  rights  and  convenience 
of  others,  which  had  signalized  his  w^hole  life.  •  His  own  native 
woods,  in  all  their  wild  rudeness,  received  into  their  bosom  the 
friend  of  the  people,  the  lover  of  his  country,  and  one  whose 
cxajnple  will  ever  remain  for  virtuous  emulation,  with  nothing 
to  mark  his  last  resting  place  but  a  heap  of  stones  which  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  in  sad  rivalry,  piled  up. over  him. 

Such  was  Nathaniel  Macon^  of  North  Carolina — the  kind 
neighbor — the  warm-hearted  friend — the  affectionate  relative — 
the  fearless  advocate  of  public  liberty — the  enlightened  states- 
inan — the  just  man.  He  is  gone,  but  his  memory  lives  in  the  hearts 
and  affections  ol  his  countrymen,  and  in  the  recorded  pages  of 
his  country's  History. 

The  writer  of  this  knew  him  well,  and  is  happy  in  being  able 
to  pay  this  imperfect  tribute  of  affection  and  gratitude  to  the 
memory  of  one,  who  was  both  his  friend  and  instructor,  and 
feels  a  pride  in  acknowledging  his  lasting  indebtedness  for  the 
many  advantages  derived  from  his  lessons  of  wisdom  and  expe- 
rience during  a  long  period  of  uninterrupted  friendship  and 
intimacy. 

Poplar  Mount,  ) 
2nd  July,  1862.      / 


NOTE. 
There  has  been  no  purpose  to  review  the  public  life  of  Mr.  Macon;  that  will 
become  the  pleasing  task  of  the  future  Historian.  But,  it  is  proper,  on  ttiis 
occasion,  in  justice  to  him  and  to  historic  truth,  to  correct  a  mistake  (doubtlesp 
unintentional,)  in  regard  to  his  course  on  what  is  so  well  known  as  the  Missouri 
CoD.protnise,  committed  by  Mr.  Benton  in  his  "  Thirty  Years  View."  In  that  valu- 
able work,  p.  8,  the  author  says,  ''This  Compromise  was  sustained  by  the  united 
"voices  of  the  soixthern  Senators,"  and  that  "the  unanimity  of  the  slave  States 
"in  the  Senate,  where  the  measure  originated,  is  shown  by  its  journal,  not  on  the 
"  motion  to  insert  the  section  constituting  the  Compromise  (for  on  that  motion  the 
"yeo  and  nays  were  not  taken,)  but  on  the  motion  to  strike  it  out,  when  they  were 
"taken,  and  showed  30  votes  for  the  Compromise  and  15  against  it,  every  one  of 
''the  latter  from  non-slaveholding  States:  the  former  comprehending  every  slave 


21 

"State  vote  present,  and.  a  fc^  from  the  North,"  H«  th«n  gives  a  list  of  th»  Sen- 
ators olaimed  to  be  tor  the  Coinpromise,  aucl  among  them  Mr.  Macon.  It  is  sub- 
mitted that  this  view  is  not  sustained  by  the  Journal  of  the  Senate,  aa  the  folio  vr- 
ing  examination  will  show. 

In  the  Session  of  1819'-'20,  as  early  as  3rd  January,  1820,  a  bill  for  the 
admission  of  the  State  of  Maine  into  the  Union  passed  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ;  and  in  the  Senate,  a  committee,  to  which  it  ^ras  referred,  reported 
as  an  ainendnient,  a  clause  admitting  also  Miasouri  on  an  equal  footing.  A|i 
instant  attempt  was  made  to  separate  the  two  bills,  but  tailed:  (Mr.  Macon 
both  spoke  and  voted  in  favor  of  the  conjunction,)  and  various  propositions  were 
also  made  to  exclude  slavery  from  Missouri,  which  likewise  failed.  Whereupon. 
Mr.  Thomu?,  of  Illinois,  moved  to  insert  a  farther  amendment,  as  an  8th  Section, 
excluding  slavery  from  all  territory  acquired  under  the  name  of  Lonieiana,  which 
lies  North  of  36°  80'  North  Latitude,  not  included  within  the  limits  of  Missouri. 
This  is  the  far-famed  Missouri  Compromise,  and  here  is  a  motion  to  insert  it  by  a 
Northern  member,  and,  upon  which,  the  ayes  and  noes  were  called,  and  resulted, 
ayes  34,  noes  10,  (every  man  voting,)  Mr.  Macon  in  the  negative.  See  Journal 
1819-'20,  page  166.  The  question  then  recurred,  "shall  the  amendments  be  en- 
grossed and  the  bill  read  a  third  time  as  amended  ?"  It  was  carried  in  the  affir- 
mative— ayes  24,  noes  20 ;  Mr,  Macon  again  in  the  negative — only  one  other  South- 
ern member  voting  with  him — Judge  Smith,  of  South  Carolina.  See  Journal,  nage 
166, 1819-'20.  Here  then,  we  see  Mr.  Macon,  anxious  as  he  was  to  admit  both 
States,  voting  with  all  Northern  members  except  one,  to  reject  the  bill — that  is 
against  the  admission  of  both  Maine  and  Missouri,  because  the  Compromise  Sec- 
tion had  been  agreed  to ;  for  the  bill,  without  that  Section,  would  have  been  pre- 
cisely what  he  desired.  But  this  is  not  all.  When  the  bill  was  returned  to  the 
Senate  from  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  with  their  disagreement  to  the  amend- 
ments, and  a  motion  was  made  to  recede,  we  find  that  Mr.  J/acow  called  for  a  division, 
which  being  agreed  to,  the  question  was  first  taken  on  receding  from  so  much  of  the 
amendments  as  provides  for  the  admission  of  Missouri  without  restriction — ayes  21, 
noes  23.  Mr.  Macon  voting  no  ;  in  effect  against  separating  the  bills.  The  question 
was  then  taken  on  receding  from  the  8th  Section,  (the  Compromise,)  aye*  11,  noe»  33. 
Mr.  Macon  voting  aye — in  effect  to  strike  out  the  Compromise  Section.  (See  Journal 
1819-'20,  page  189,)  that  is  to  reject  it.  A  committee  of  conference  was  then 
appointed,  and  in  their  report  on  2nd  March  recommended  that  the  Senate  recede 
from  their  amendments  to  the  Maine  Bill,  and  that  the  two  Houses  strike  out  of  the 
Missouri  Bill  the  4th  Section,  restricting  slavery  in  that  State,  and  insert  a  new 
Section  prohibiting  slavery  North  of  36°  30'  North  Latitude — substantially  to 
separate  the  two  bills,  and  to  render  the  Missoxiri  Bill  precisely  what  it  was  when 
it  passed  the  Senate  as  a  part  of  the  Maine  Bill,  and  against  which  Mr.  Macon 
voted.  At  this  stage,  the  Senate  proceeded  to  consider  the  bill  for  the  admis.sion 
of  Missouri,  which  had  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  with  a  slavery  restric- 
tion. This  restriction  being  stricken  out,  Mr.  Ihomas,  of  Illinois,  moved  to  insert 
&  new  Section  prohibiting  slavery  North  of  36°  30'  North  Latitude,  (the  same, 
totidem  verbis,  he  had  offered  to  the  Maine  bill,  as  the  8th  Section^  which  had  passed 
the  Senate,  and  upon  which  the  sense  of  the  Senate  had  been  three  several  times 
had.  Mr.  Macon  always  in  opposition  to  it.)  This  was  agreed  to  without  a  divi- 
.<iion.  It  was  acquiesced  in,  no  doubt,  with  a  tacit  understanding  that  the  previous 
votes  of  members  should  be  received  us  indicating  their  respective  opinions,  for  it 
is  worthy  of  note,  that  in  the  Senate,  frivolous  calls  for  the  ayes  and  noes  were 


22 


never  indulged  in.  Members  abstained  from  vexing  the  ««,r  and  patience  of  thft 
Body  -tvith  sucb  call?  "pon  r^uestiona  which  had  been  solemnly  and  deliberately 
decided.  It  being  thus  agreed  to,  (just  as  Mr.  Benton  states,)  a  motion  waS^  made 
to  strike  it  out,  (aa  Mr.  Benton  also  states,)  by  Mr.  Trimble,  of  Ohio,  but  it  wa? 
not  Bimply  a  motion  to  strike  out  the  compromise  Section,  but  to  strike  out  so  much 
ol  the  Section  as  prohibited  slavery  only  North  of  36°  30'  North  Latitude,  and  to 
tnaert  a  clause  prohibiting  it  South  en  well  aa  North  of  the  li-nr..  The  clause  pro- 
osed  to  be  dirifken  oui,  and  that  to  be  imerted,  equally  affirmed  the  principle  of 
rohibition  :  so  that  an  affirmative  or  negative  vote  would  alike  have  sanctioned 
the  power.  It  was  carried  in  the  negative—  ayes  12,  noes  30.  See  Journal,  page 
202.  Mr.  Macon  voted  no  :  preferring,  if  the  poioer  was  to  be  usvrped,  that  it.s 
application  should  be  confined  to  the  narrowest  limits,*  and  it  would  seem  that  no 
ingenuity  could  torture  this  vote  into  an  approval  of  "  The  Compromise."  That 
this  is  the  motion  upon  which  Mr.  Benton  relies  to  show  "  The  unanimity  of  the 
slave  States"  is  obvious,  because  the  number  of  negative  vote?  (30)  he  states,  and 
tho  list  furnished  by  him  of  members  so  voting,  exactly  correspond  with  the  Jour- 
nal, (he  commits  a  slight  oversight  in  stating  the  yeas -to  be  15,  making  the  num- 
ber of  Senators  45,  when  thei'c  were  but  44,  all  told,)  and  because  this  was  the  only 
motion,  at  any  stage  of  the  bill,  or  at  any  time,  ip  the  progress  of  the  controversy. 
"To  strike  out,"  in  any  sense,  the  Compromise  Section.  If  this,  theh,  is  the  au- 
thority relied  upon  by  the  author  of  "  30  Years  View,"  (and  it  seems  that  there  is 
no  other,)  there  is  an  insuperable  difficulty  in  concurring  in  his  conclusions. 

In  addition,  it  is  proper  to  state,  that  Mr.  Macon  participated  early  in  the  debate 
on  this  exciting  subject :  and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  said,  that  "  The  gentle- 
man from  Rhode  Island,  Mr.  T3nrrill,  seemed  to  think  the  question  about  slaves 
ought  to  be  touched  very  delicately.  He  did  touch  it  so  :  but  there  is  no  power  in 
the  General  Government  to  touch  it  in  any  way."  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed,  that, 
with  this  conviction,  he  would  impugn  the  doctrines  of  his  whole  life  by  assenting 
to  the  exercise  of  a  power  whose  existence  he  denied.  He  looked  loithin  for  the 
rule  of  right ;  and,  his  judgment  sanctioning,  no  extraneous  circumstances,  how- 
ever pressing,  be  they  of  expediency  or  of  entreaty,  could  induce  him  to  swerve 
from  it. 

The  record,  then,  is  the  witness  to  Mr.  Mapon's  position  on  the  *'  Missouri  Com- 
promise ;"  and  it  is  offered  in  entire  confidence,  that  it  affords  indisputable  proof 
that  that  position  was  one  of  determined  and  persistent  opposition.  E. 


/ 


V 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00017486711 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped 
below  unless  recalled  sooner.    It  may  be 
renewed  only  once  and  must  be  brought  to 
the  North  Carolina  Collection  for  renewal. 


'orm  Na.  A- 369 


